No cut to gas bills for schools

THE energy regulator has ruled out any exemption for schools from paying the same gas charges as homes and businesses, despite efforts by the Department of Education.

Minister of State Sean Haughey told the Dáil last week that officials have been pursuing the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which regulates prices charged by Bord Gáis for gas and ESB for electricity, to seek ways of reducing bills for the country’s 4,000 primary and second-level schools.

But a spokesperson for the CER said that, while schools and others are welcome to seek more competitive prices from other providers whose prices it does not regulate, it is not likely to change its rules.